


a fine idea

by written_you_down



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Christmas Lights, M/M, One Shot, dan all about the fashion smith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26414818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/written_you_down/pseuds/written_you_down
Summary: Dan sorta loves Christmas lights.
Relationships: Charlie Barnes/Dan Smith
Comments: 10
Kudos: 10





	a fine idea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [groundopenwide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/groundopenwide/gifts).



> written for the lovely [groundopenwide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/groundopenwide/pseuds/groundopenwide) who is one of my favorite folks.

It was fucking freezing.

December in Charlotte shouldn’t be this cold. Charlie was no meteorologist, but he was fairly certain he was correct on this point. Also, Dan had all but promised him that it wouldn’t be this frigid. 

“It’s fine,” he had said. “You don’t even need a heavy coat. Come, let’s have a drink.” 

This was the last time he was taking that sort of advice from Dan. 

Charlie should’ve known better than to listen to Dan about clothing choices anyway. Half the time, Dan’s socks didn’t even match. This was a man who would happily pair a checkered print with stripes and not think twice about it. 

So here they were now, in the fucking cold, wandering the sidewalks of a deserted downtown after doing far, far too many shots of tequila.

Naturally, that had been Dan’s idea, too. 

“It’s fine,” he had said. “It’ll help you keep warm in that thin coat of yours. It’s fucking freezing out there.”

_Yes, Dan. Thanks for that one._

Charlie’s mental conversation with the-Dan-in-his-head was suddenly interrupted when he walked directly into real-life-Dan’s back. 

Before Charlie could even ask, Dan provided him with an answer. “Look it!” he exclaimed and raised an arm up into the air. 

Charlie followed the direction of Dan’s finger and saw a giant office building completely lit up for the holidays. It was massive, dozens of stories high and each window shone brightly in a green or red. Taken together, the windows formed a huge Christmas tree. It was both a bit tacky and a bit beautiful. 

Dan studied it with a fairly serious expression on his face. “I wish we could see it from another view. Something from higher up. It’d be a wicked picture.” He began to turn in a circle and study the buildings. 

Charlie shivered. “I don’t think we can legally enter any of these—“

“Oi! There’s a parking deck! I bet we could just walk into that and go to the top level.” Dan started moving away before Charlie could even answer.

Charlie hurried to catch up. Fuck, Dan had long legs. His strides were ridiculous. “This doesn’t look like it’s for public use. Dan, we can’t just…” He was too late, Dan had disappeared into the deck. 

By the time he had caught up, Dan already had his hand around the door handle that led to the stairs. It was unlocked and Dan cheered as he went through it into the stairwell. 

“It’s fine!” he said. “It’s only 12 flights!” Dan was well on his way to the second story before Charlie’s brain had even registered what he was saying. 

“Twelve flights of stairs…“ Charlie huffed as he climbed, “…are many things. Most definitely they are _not_ fine.”

“Can’t hear you,” Dan sing-songed from somewhere up above. “Catch up!”

Eleven flights later, Charlie finally saw Dan again. 

He was all rosy cheeked and bright eyed from the exercise. Apparently, training for the bloody London marathon did wonders for one’s cardio. Dan watched him with a grin, his heavy overcoat now in his hands, having shed it somewhere along his climb. “Ah. There you are!”

“And you are _completely_ mental. If I find out we did all of this just so you could put it on Instagram…”

“What if you’re in the picture as well? I could tag you?” Dan’s smile only seemed to grow brighter as Charlie scowled at him. 

“What made you so certain that I would even follow you on this quest of yours, eh? You left me for dead about twelve flights ago. I did this trek solo, completely alone.”

Charlie had forgotten that tequila made Dan sentimental, or he would’ve chosen his words with more care. 

Dan’s eyes went soft and he pulled Charlie in for an embrace that was somehow both freezing and sweaty. “I promise I’ll always be there for you. No matter what. You’re not alone anymore.”

Charlie’s face was crushed against Dan’s chest for the duration of the hug. He weakly pat Dan’s back and his words were muffled against Dan’s jumper. “Thank you, Dan. I feel very supported.”

Dan seemed pleased and released Charlie from his grip. “Come on then. Let’s go see the view.” The door seemed to stick just a bit and Dan shoved against it to open it. 

They walked out onto the deck and made their way to the ledge closest to the Christmas tree building. Now that he was back outside, Charlie once again felt the cold. This high up in the air, the wind was particularly fierce. He shivered and Dan noticed it.

“Charlie, you didn’t wear nearly enough for this. Here! Take my coat.” He held it open and placed it on Charlie’s shoulders.

“I can’t just take yours, you’ll freeze,” Charlie argued though he was already warmer and he hadn’t even put his arms through the sleeves yet. 

“It’s fine,” Dan said. “I’ve got four jumpers on. Look, see,” he reached down and showed Charlie the hems of his surprisingly many tops.

“Why on earth are you wearing so many—“

“I thought it might be cold and you just never know when you—“

“Might need to climb onto the roof of a parking deck?” Charlie shook his head and put the coat on properly. The cold seemed to instantly disappear — this was the giant coat with the ridiculous fake fur trimmed hood that Dan wore across Russia. “What the fuck, by the way?” he laughed in disbelief. “You insisted that it wasn’t going to be that bad out here.”

“Well,” Dan began solemnly. “I wanted you to come out with me so I was trying to eliminate all the reasons you’d say no.” 

Charlie blinked. “That is a surprisingly honest answer.”

“Are you upset? Do I need to hug you again?” 

Charlie shook his head and laughed. “No, I’m not upset.”

Dan looked doubtful and pulled Charlie close. “Well. Just in case.” He hugged Charlie briefly and then turned his sight to the sky line. 

Charlie moved to take in the view as well… It was actually quite nice. Not that he would ever admit it to Dan, but it looked sort of beautiful from this high up. Dan had his phone out and was rapidly taking pictures. Before he could stop him, Dan had the camera on him. 

“You look great,” Dan grinned. “The coat suits you.”

“Dan. This coat does not suit anyone. It has fake fur.” Knowing Dan would likely continue to take the photos regardless if he participated or not, Charlie gave his best smile.

“Right,” Dan nodded. “Now let’s try one without you flipping me off so your family can use it for their Christmas card.” 

Once Dan had what he needed, he stood next to Charlie. There was a moment of silence as the wind moved lightly through their hair and they just stared at the lights of the city. Charlie was far from home and it being so close to Christmas made him miss it even more than he normally did. 

Dan reached over, raised the hood of the coat and left it on top of Charlie’s head. The corners of Dan’s mouth twitched up into a pleased expression. “I’m glad we did this.”

Charlie looked up at Dan and was certain that the smile on his own face was as goofy and sincere as the one on Dan’s. 

“It was a fine idea.”

**Author's Note:**

> -thanks mucho to [heartbreakordeath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartbreakordeath/pseuds/heartbreakordeath) for the beta. 
> 
> -if this story seems completely random, it's because it totally is! It was written in one sitting earlier today based off of the prompt- being somewhere you're not supposed to be. and the quote "I promise I'll always be there for you. No matter what. You're not alone anymore."


End file.
